Graining machine



Nov. 14, 1933. C,IZARK|N 1,935,306

GRAINING mamas Filed March 12,1930 3 smu -sheet 1 mvamo? NOV. 14, 1933.c zARKlN 1,935,306

GRAINING MACHINE H Patented Nov. 14, 1933 UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.-

IMIM oaamma moms casual-Hanan Yes-LEI. Appli cation ma 1:, 1m. SerialNo. mm

Claims. (ci ar- 4 This invention relates to apparatus for grain- 11 8"printing plates.

Special objects of the inventionare to provide improved apparatus forthe purpose, which will operate more smoothly and quie at greater speedand with less wear on the parts; which will effect better graining andin less time; in which the plates can be fastened down and removed morereadily; which can be cleaned more easily 1 and in which the grainingmarblesmay be handled with greater facility than'has been possibleheretofore.

The objects mentioned and others. which will appear as the specificationproceeds are attained by certain novel features of construction,combinations and relations of parts as hereinafter described and broadlyclaimed.

The drawings illustrate one practical commercial embodiment of theinvention, but it is to -Deunderstood that the physical structure may bemodified as regards this particular disclosure without departure fromthe true'spirlt and broad scope of the invention. 5

1 is a broken plan view of the machine;

2 Fig. 2 is a broken and view of the machine on an enlarged scale, thisview being taken as on substantially the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is a side view partly broken away and in section showing thehydraulic Jack on'the sub-frame as employed for tilting the tub of themachine to drain the marbles back into the baskets; Fig. 5 is a brokenpart sectional trating particularly the removablewood, flooring and thevarious hold-down devices; Fig. 6 is a broken corner detail showing theinterlock betweenthe tub and'its sub-frame; Fig.7 is a broken plan viewillustrating a slight modification in the tub flooring or lining. Thetub which is designated 9 is of all steel construction in the presentdisclosure and has a wooden lining or flooring consisting of boards orpanels l0 held down by a bar or bars 11. Figs. 5 and "I seating flush ingrooves 12 and held down by screws 13, which take into screw seats suchas provided by the nuts 14 welded to the bottom of the tub. Overlyingthis wooden floor is a metal lining 15 removably secured in place byhold-down bars 16 secured adjustably along the sides of the tub by bolts1'7 in the bars 18 secured to the side walls of the tub by externalscrews 19. In Fig. 3. the boards are shown as grooved on both sides, sothat theymay be turned over from time to time, so as to use both sidespart sectional side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is across-sectionalperspective view of the tub illusoftheboards.Thisfeatureisofparticular value when the plates are held down by tacksor other fastenings drivendown into the wood. In-addition to holding thelining and the ends of the boards down snugly in place, the bars 16provide abutments for the marbles preventing the latter'from wearingagainst the side .walls of the tub. In addition to the novel. featuresdescribed. thetub is shown as flanged over at the top as indicated at 20to reinforce it about the upper edges. to cover over the hold-downfastenings and to provide mounts for the special hold-down clamps laterdescribed.

tub is supportedcn a sub-frame 21, to which it is hin ed at the rear ofthe machine at 22, 2 and 4. At the opposite or free end, a mechanicalinterlock is provided between the tub and its supporting frame in theform of yokes or brackets 23. 4 and 6, which fit down closely overpositioning lugs 24 on the sub-frame.

For liftingand holding the tub in elevated tilted position, specialmeans are provided consisting in the present disclosure of a hydraulicJack 25 mounted on a bracket 26, dependent from the end of thesub-frame, said jack being operable by a hand lever 2'1 and having aplunger 28 engaging beneath the end of the tub. This liftingmechanismmaybeo 'tedatanytimetolift the tub into an inclined position,such as shown in Fig. 4 and as this mechanism is carried entirely by'thesupporting structure of the tub, the machine may be kept in operation inthe tub in this tilted relation.

The tub frame is supported at the four comers on the balls 29 mounted inthe bearing cups 30 on the frame or base 31 and it is guided in anorbital path by a rectangular guide frame 32 slidingly mounted on thebase and having sliding connection with the tub frame. As shown .in Fig.1, this guide frame is arranged diagonally on the base and carries attwo of. its corners, guide lugs or members 33 operating in rectilinearguides 34 on the'frame and at its other two corners guide members 35operating in rectilinear guides 36 on the bottom of the tub frame, thelatter guideways being disposed at right angles to those guideways onthe base, so as to confine the tub to a definite orbital travel.

A single crank or eccentricis employed for operating the tub, the samebeing shown as a crank pin 37 on the upper end of a shaft 38 journalledvertically in the central portion of the base frame. This crank pinconnects with the tub frame by a special universal ball hearing as shownat 39 in Fig. 3, so that any variations, 110

such as might occur in the wearing of the ball bearings supporting thefour corners of the tub will have no binding or injurious effect on thecoupling between the crank shaft and tub. In the illustration, the outerrace 40 of the ball bearing 39 is the universal member having aconcavely curved track 41 for' the double row of balls enabling thebearing to function properly regardless of such misalignment asmlght.occur from unequal wearing of the different parts of the machine.This outer ball race is shown seated in a hub 42 dependent from thebottom of the tub frame.

A counter-balance for the crank pin is shown provided at 43 in Fig. 3,said counterbalance being indicated as an extension of the crank arm 44.This crank arm is illustrated as having an annular upstanding flange 45at its upper face working in a groove 46 in the underface of the ballrace hub 42, thus closing the ball race cavity for holding lubricant andkeeping out foreign matter. This sealing flange is shown as arrangedconcentrically of the crank pin and as forming therefor an annularinterlock with the tub frame in all positions of its travel.

The crank arm is illustrated in Fig. 3 as extended in the form of acrank disc and in this form it is utilized as a thrust shoulder for thevertical shaft, 9. ball thrust bearing being indicated as, interposed at47 between the underside of this crank disc and a stationary step 48,the latter being indicated as carried by a center portion 49 of the mainframe. This part of the frame is illustrated as having upper and lowerparts carrying the upper and lower annular bearings 50, 51, for thevertical shaft and as being recessed between these bearings at 51 toaccommodate the bevel gear 52 on said shaft, which bevel gear mesheswith a-pinion 53 on the horizontal motor driven shaft 54. The ballbearing seats in the main frame are shown as closed by plugs or collars55, 56, held removably in place by lock screws 5'7 and these collars areshown as carrying annular packings 58 for holding the lubricant andkeeping dust out of the ball bearings.

As indicated particularly in Figs. 1 and 2, the plates, such as the oneshown at 59 may be held down by adjustable clamps in form of clampscrews 60 in the blocks 61, which are slidable longitudinally of thetransversely extending angle bars 62. The latter are shown in Fig. 5 assecured together at their ends at 63 in spaced back to back relation andthe nut blocks 61 through which the clamp screws are threaded areindicated as having flanges 64 at their upper and lower ends engaging-over and beneath the edges of the angle bars toslidably confine theseblocks to said bars. The upright flanges of these angle bars are slottedhorizontally at their ends at 65 to slidably engage with the inturnededge flanges 20 of the tub. Thus the clamp carrying bars are adjustablelongitudinally of the tub and the individual clamps may be settransversely to suit the dimensions of the plates. At the upper ends theclamp screws may be equipped with suitable handles, such as indicated at66, so that they may be quickly manipulated to grip or release theplates.

At the back the tub is shown as having a trough extension 6'7 providedwith a drain 68 and containing a series of baskets 69 for catching themarbles, these baskets having reticulated bottoms as indicated at 70.Lugs or feet '71 on the bottom of these baskets support them in raisedrelation in the trough, so that the liquid will readily aesaaoc from thebaskets into the trough and out the outlet 68. The individual basketsare shown as having cross handles 72 by which they may be readily liftedout or lowered into the trough and in Fig. 1, the baskets are shown asmade up in rectangular form closely fitting and entirely filling thetrough. Any number of baskets may be employed, depending on the capacityof the machine and it will be evident that this construction provides aneasy way of handling a large quantity of graining marbles.

When the machine is in operation, the marbles are confined to the bodyof the tub by a dam 73. which as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4 is hinged at75, so that it may be swung down to release the marbles into thebaskets. Suitable packing 76 of rubber or the like, may be provided toinsure a close substantially water-tight joint about the edges of thedam and suitable means, such as hook fastenings 77 may be provided forreleasably securing the dam in the upright position.

The tub is preferably made of one piece of sheet steel and while thewood flooring is desirable for most purposes, the same may be readilyremoved and not used, if conditions so require. The hydraulic jack iseasily operable and serves both to lift and to hold the tub in anydesired inclined relation, the machine being operative while the tub isthus inclined, the latter feature aiding in the washing and cleaningoperations. The selfaligning hearing which forms the coupling betweenthe tub frame and the drive crank is especially important, assuringcontinued smooth operation of the machine in spite of such mis-alignmentas may occur in such a heavy piece of apparatus subjected to such roughconditions of use.

The wood flooring in addition to forming a cushion serves to effectivelybrace the steel tub.

, What is claimed is:

1. In a graining machine, a graining tub, clamp 115 screws mounted alongthe inner walls of the same, clamp bars engaged by said screws and aflooring for the tub removably and adjustably secured in place by saidclamp bars.

2. In a graining machine, a; graining tub, rails 120 along the innerwall of said tub, bolts screwthreaded in said rails, clamp bars engagedby said screws and flooring for the tub adjustably and removably held inplace by said clamp bars.

3. In a plate graining machine, the combina- 126 tion of a graining tubhaving inwardly extending edge flanges, clamp supporting bars havingforked ends in sliding engagement with said edge flanges and hold-downclamps slidingly adjustable longitudinally of. said bars.

4. A plate graining machine, comprising a tub having inwardly extendingflanges along the sides and above the bottom of the same, but notextending continuously the full length of the tub, so as to leave endsof said flanges exposed, a 135 clamp bar having slotted ends engageableover the thus exposed ends of the tub flanges and slidablelongitudinally over said flanges to different positions in the tub andadjustable plate holding clamp means carried by said clamp bar.

5. A plate graining machine, comprising a tub having inwardly extendingflanges along the sides and above the bottom of the same, but notextending continuously the fulllength of the tub, so as to leave ends ofsaid flanges exposed, a clamp bar having slotted ends engageable overthe thus exposed ends of the tub flanges and slidable longitudinallyover said flanges to different positions in the tub, adjustable plateholding clamp means carried by said clamp bar, said tub having a 150trough st ezie end end said tub flanges being discontinued above thetrough to leave full access to said trough.

G. A plate greining machine, comprising in combination, e base frame, attub frame mounted ier gramme movement on said base frame, a gramme tubhingedly mounted on one end of said tub frame end extending over theopposite end ef eeid tub frame, a supporting step dependent from andeem'ied by said opposite end of the tub iaa

